About Us

I’m John Gitahi—an AI enthusiast, techpreneur, and mentor/coach with one mission at heart: to empower young Kenyans to leverage AI to create livelihoods.

My Journey

Founder of Kenya Online College, the country’s premier digital marketing training institution.
Co-founder of AIKnowZone Foundation, where we train youth in AI skills and connect them with emerging AI jobs.
Author of two best-selling books on internet entrepreneurship.
Creator of the AI Champion Awards, Kenya’s flagship event spotlighting brands that excel in AI.
Speaker on AI and techpreneurship.

My passion for working with young people began when I started Palmax Business & ICT College (later Karatina Institute of Technology) and trained over 5,000 students—many of whom are now thriving in their careers.

Today, that same fire fuels my work with AIKnowZone Foundation.

My Vision & Mission

Vision: A Kenya where every young person—regardless of background—has the skills to earn, and become economically secure in an increasingly AI driven world.

Mission: To train 10,000 youth in AI-powered skills over the next five years, then ignite a ripple effect that reaches 1 million young Kenyans through mentorship and peer teaching.

What I’m Building

With my partner—who shares this unwavering commitment—we’re launching a suite of AI-powered programs designed to turn ideas into real income:

AI in Digital Marketing
Learn to run data-driven, automated campaigns that clients pay top rates for—either as full-time roles or freelance gigs.
Community Tech Solutions
Design AI tools that solve local problems (like optimizing boda-boda routes or helping shops manage stock) and earn consulting fees.
Artisan Empowerment with AI
Help tailors, carpenters, and salonists use AI for design, prototyping, and marketing—then sell products online for higher profit.
AI Health & Wellness Services
Create personalized fitness and nutrition plans using AI, and monetize them through subscriptions or one-on-one coaching.
AI Tutoring & EdTech
Become an AI-powered tutor or run community learning hubs—charging for online lessons, study groups, and educational resources.
AI Journalism & Storytelling
Publish blogs, newsletters, and video content that generate revenue through ads, sponsorships, and affiliate links.
Smart Urban Farming & Agritech
Use AI to advise farmers on crop health, planting schedules, and sales strategies—offering your expertise as a paid service.
AI Entrepreneurship Lab
Incubate micro-startups that leverage AI (from chatbots to niche e-books) and earn through product sales or SaaS subscriptions.

How We Scale Impact

Train 2000 youth every year—each will be ready to get a job in AI powered online and traditional businesses or start their own business.
Enable our top trainees to mentor 10 peers each, growing our impact to 100,000 lives.
Empower those 100,000 to mentor 10 more, creating a network of 1 million AI-savvy -and economically empowered- youth across Kenya.

Why this will help solve Kenya's huge Unemployment Crisis

Kenya is already known for its talented digital workforce—AI skills will make our youths more marketable locally and internationally (many western firms hire local digital talent remotely).
The digital economy is only going to grow; those who master AI today will lead tomorrow.
Our foundation is not just about training—it’s about creating a future for those who would otherwise have no hope by taking advantage AI technologies going mainstream (and starting to change the future of work)

Join Me

I started this journey with my own resources, but to reach every corner of Kenya—Nyeri, Laikipia, Nakuru, Nairobi’s informal settlements, the Coast, and beyond—I need partners and donors who believe in the power of youth and AI.

Partner with us to offer real-world projects for our trainees- Hire them even as interns.
Fund our mission to accelerate our training and reach- It's your time to touch a live (we work exclusively with youths from disadvantaged backgrounds).
Mentor a cohort and share your expertise with Kenya’s next generation..Please come on board as a mentor and create a lasting legacy..The next generation needs you!

Together, we can create profound impact among youths who lack opportunities—Imagine a Kenya where every young person has is able to put food on the table thanks to their newly acquired in-demand AI skills?

Will you help us transform the lives of 10,000, 100,000, or even 1 million youth?

PS: John has also written for the Daily Nation Newspaper, The East African Standard, as well as KASNEB Newsline Magazine

I exclusively work with young people who do not have an opportunity to pursue former higher education due to their humble backgrounds- this is the group that we teach real-world AI technology applications and most importantly, how to turn those new skills into steady income (either from employment, freelancing, or businesses).

For the most part, these youths become a beacon of hope for their families and end up changing the economic fortunes of their siblings and parents.

“I’ll reiterate the same message I’ve been living by for the last few years: ‘Drop everything and focus on AI.’..”

- Dr Andrej Karpathy, founding member of OpenAI and ex-Tesla's director of artificial intelligence

Following a serious shortage of AI talent in Kenya and beyond, John launched the exclusive 10,000 AI talent hub in 2024.

This club is increasingly becoming the go-to hub for businesses and entrepreneurs looking for World-Class Artificial Intelligence talent – the club is hosted by AIKnowZone (learn more at aiknowzone.com) and is actually a bridge into the workplace for graduates of AiKnowZone's foundation AI skills training programmes.

John created the club to be an innovative place where people interested in jumping into AI come to learn best strategies for success when it comes to AI from some of the most successful AI professionals in Kenya and the world.

John aims at mentoring 10000 AI workers in the next 5 years – ultimately, it is going to be a Win-Win: Entrepreneurs and Brands will have ready talent to hire to scale their businesses online through integrating ai into their operations while the mentees get into meaningful full-time employment (John’s goal is to create 100000 Jobs) or gets a chance to pursue lucrative freelance opportunities in AI Globally.

Join this very special community HERE!

About Me